blackwhalegroup» startuphttp://blackwhalegroup.com
blackwhalegroup // An idea studio focused on converging the physical with the digital and digitizing our physical reality. We look for the white space in trends, conversations, and industries and capitalize on opportunities that others might not see; or are too afraid to take a stand and dream.Wed, 22 Aug 2012 01:44:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5The Psychology of FDNY & Pinteresthttp://blackwhalegroup.com/2012/07/the-psychology-of-fdny-pinterest/
http://blackwhalegroup.com/2012/07/the-psychology-of-fdny-pinterest/#commentsTue, 10 Jul 2012 15:08:09 +0000blackwhalehttp://blackwhalegroup.com/?p=813

After my college life, facing the reality of the real world, like most people, I began to wonder if I got the right degree. I started off in the science world, biology and zoology, but quickly changed my mind to marketing after the likes of Kantian Deontology made my head hurt just trying to pronounce it. And a great choice it was… it truly is the passion of my career. However, there has always been something that I wish I would have explored a little more deeply; Psychology. I am completely enamored by the way that people choose, align with certain things, and just go about their daily lives. I think understanding the way the individual’s mind works allows us as marketers to develop products and brands to enhance the individual needs and lives of our consumers.

As a digital native and professional, the psychology of the Web 2.0 world has been something of an exciting time; the way people connect with each other, why certain platforms succeed, what content is shared, and where brands play a role in the ecosystem (if they play a role). It is an amazing human experiment to see what platforms grow and die; new ways of sharing explode while others fail; different types of content being shared over others… all with an underlying human need, the need to feel included and part of something bigger; the alignment with others around a centralized idea or notion.

While pondering the rise and permeation of Pinterest, at a bar of course, I witnessed something amazing. An older gentleman, who was by himself, walks up to the semi-crowded, dimly lit bar with the Yankees game playing in the back ground. The one thing that stood out to me about this person was the fact that he was alone and was wearing a jacket with an FDNY patch on it. When the bartender took his order, he asked the gentleman about the patch and disclosed that he was 30 years, retired from FDNY. The gentleman simply answered “35. Retired.” What transpired after was something truly amazing… The camaraderie and conversation that these two “strangers” had was deep and engaging, something that you would think longtime friends would have; not two strangers who just met.

The camaraderie and conversation that these two “strangers” had was deep and engaging, something that you would think longtime friends would have; not two strangers who just met

The initial connection about FDNY created a sense of trust and relationship that would never have been there had the gentleman worn a different jacket into the bar that day. This single connection gave a sense of purpose, a sense of understanding between the two. Now think about this story in the new digital landscape… We are in the midst of fulfilling natural human behaviors through shared connections, content, and discussions put forth through a new medium. To think about “Social Media” any other way is simply absurd.

As we look into jumping on the new thing or investing in a new start up, ask yourself, does this piece of technology enable this core, human dynamic of connection or self-expression? If so, you might have a winner.

The glamor of the Tech Startup life has been appealing to me since the beginning of mainstream Internet. The idea of creating the next Google or developing a killer mobile app to sell for millions is a dream that continues to pop into my mind on a relatively frequent basis. Always starting ideas and brainstorming with friends and partners, but never really acting… Until one day a few short months ago. My business partner came to me one morning to discuss an idea that he had for an app that would revolutionize the way people planned their day; reminders based on location. An idea that I thought was our break into the industry. Take it by storm, be on the cover of FastCompany, offices in Palo Alto and NYC, living the large life all because of this idea. I was hooked. I was ready to jump in and make this happen. I’d invest my career and my savings into getting this thing off the ground.

So let’s get moving, right? I felt a bit like George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean’s 11, putting together the ideal team; “Off the top of my head, I’d say you’re looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever!” Picking from the best people in our network, we actually created a pretty solid team that was excited and vested in our idea… except a developer. Our reasoning: “We can always find a developer to get moving on this, once we’re ready.” But, nonetheless, we had an amazing team set up. Next came the market research, strategy, partnership development, VC pitches, creative/brand development, etc. We had it all moving towards startup greatness… That is all except a developer. We were on a roll. We had some great momentum, but the lingering feeling of needing to ship stood over me. We had a VC meeting set up, that was a very good chance to get funded for our development process; which was when we decided we would hire a developer, once the idea was sold.

Tech Startup stardom was in our future.

The Apple Factor

All well and good, right? A development plan and timeline, the right players, VC funding on the near horizon, and a marketing penetration strategy ready to rollout.

Freakout #1: Enter Apple iPhone 4S with built in location based reminders into the G-D operating system; the destruction of ideas. Don’t get me wrong, I completely admire Apple and the technological innovations they have created over the past 4 decades, but really? Our exact idea right there, on stage, on commercials, and voice activated with that little floozy Siri. A kick right in the nether regions…

Of course we had a very quick regroup of our key stakeholders to identify challenges, opportunities, and to revisit our timeline. Since our idea was to initially launch on Android, we saw some hope. The 4S would only be available to a small percentage of the smartphone population; we could still get in, make a splash and get situated for success. Keep Calm and Carry On…

Freakout #2: Then, I updated my iPhone 4 to iOS 5… Right there, on my first screen is a little reminders app waiting for me to make a reminder and put in my location… no big deal just our idea EXACTLY right there for an increasingly broader portion of the population. It seemed as though Apple was going after our idea directly.

Again, another partner regroup to decide the viability and opportunities for our idea in the App space. We decide that we have a very small window that is closing fast to get in. We need to step up our game. Get funded ASAP and deploy by year end if we wanted any chance for success. The risk level continued to surmount the more Apple’s idea permeated the Interwebs and the conversations around the functionality.

Freakout #3: Technical Knockout: What’s that on TV? Oh that’s just our app… being advertised… by Apple… Something I had envisioned in the future, but with us leading the way; not Apple. The stake through the heart of our idea. With the mass audience display of this very application idea permeating through every household in America, we came to the realization that this idea was something that is going mainstream… without us leading it. The great minds at Google or any other future investor had to be developing a similar concept (not to say they hadn’t already begun; but out of sight out of mind). We’ve officially run into the proverbial death of our idea sifting through the airwaves in dramatic iPhone Advertising-like Fashion.

Lessons Learned

As you would imagine, we learned a lot along the way. Being novices in the app arena, we felt as though we had hit a goldmine. After stakeholder interviews, developing key partnerships and even setting up funding presentations with VCs, we were on our way to startup success, given we could beat the competition to the market. But we didn’t. I’m a firm believer of “failing forward” and ensuring that each experience is a learning experience. So here is what I’ve learned:

Ship: You don’t have an idea until you’ve shipped it. No matter what, you have to get something out in the marketplace in order to have a fighting chance. I believe you need to do your due diligence on your idea to ensure it is solving a real problem, but once it’s decided, get your ass in gear and get something in the marketplace; even if it’s just a very short iteration on the grandiose realization of what the product could be.

Time: Real time isn’t fast enough when getting a high tech product out to market. There are millions of people and companies, most of which smarter than you, working around the clock to capture the next big thing. If you think you have it, someone else is thinking of it already. Be very cognizant of time and ensure you meet your development deadlines and “ship” on time.

Resources: One of the biggest factors that played into our demise and inability to ship was our resources. We had an extreme knowledge of theory and strategy, with a little bit of knowledge of tactical execution. When you make that transformative mindset in becoming a tech startup, your very next step is to ensure that you build a team of competent individuals to execute any idea; especially development of the idea. Do this before the idea is even finalized. By having the team in place, the issue of time is becomes a non-factor and shipping your idea becomes a smoother transition.

Agility: The landscape changes daily and is changing faster and faster. I’ve heard it a million times and have witnessed it in my story above, but your idea may come out before you have a chance to ship yours. Don’t get discouraged when this happens, but have the ability and agility to flex the idea or shift directions to ensure success. You may need to cut features to launch or focus on other features than previously thought, but to differentiate in the marketplace you MUST be agile in your production process.

It’s been a great trip, one that has invigorated me to move onto the next idea. Yes, it’s a bit frustrating, but like I said, we’re failing forward. We now know what’s needed to succeed in the next venture. It’ll happen, as long as that little bitch Siri stays out of it.

There is a lot of Technology discussion happening today with the launch of Google+, the Twitter guys revamping Obvious, and Zynga’s imminent IPO, a day that could make anyone reach for a beer with a sense of overwhelm. While our first instinct is to jump on the bandwagon and launch our own technologies or adopt new emerging technologies, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what we’re doing. Below is a great post keeping us sane in these insane days… Solve First, Then Ship.

The thing about technology is that it is not slowing down anytime soon. Acceleration and adoption are becoming an everyday occurrence. This excitement is leading to some amazing revolutions across many industries and we are seeing some great wins through connectedness and efficiency.

As leaders in the space, we are constantly pushed to iterate and push the boundaries of what we can do with technology.

However, this speed is creating a “ship now, we’ll find a reason later” mentality is building a sense of ubiquity and clutter in our minds eye whereas we should be flipping the ship process upside down to create a solution based function. The “ship now” movement pushes out product with no rhyme or reason, with each new startup wanting to be the new shiny object that’s talked about in all the industry publications and blogs, however the product has little to no true value in the increasingly connected world economy.

identify and intimately understand root causes to problems, issues, or concerns then utilize technology to solve these issues

To Flip the Funnel we dig deep into the economic ecosystem to identify and intimately understand root causes to problems, issues, or concerns then utilize technology to solve these issues. This viewpoint creates a deeper understanding of the economy as a whole and provides value in the products we ship.

To all the startups and wannabe startups, let’s start this shift and create towards global solutions. Let’s fight to understand major issues, then develop to solve. Instead of fame, let’s fix infrastructures. Together, with technology, we can change the world.

]]>http://blackwhalegroup.com/2011/06/solve-first-then-ship/feed/0TechCrunch Disrupt: What are we solving?http://blackwhalegroup.com/2011/05/what-are-we-solving/
http://blackwhalegroup.com/2011/05/what-are-we-solving/#commentsTue, 24 May 2011 02:04:31 +0000blackwhalehttp://blackwhalegroup.com/?p=164

Today launched the awesome incubator TechCrunch Disrupt here in NYC. I, however, was unable to attend, but was glued to my monitor like it was March Madness or the Tour de France. Some great things are happening in the world of technology. Apps connecting the dots of individual user behavior, location, customizable offers, gamification, and shiny new technologies on smartphones and other mobile devices. And as a Physical / Digital Convergence nerd, I’m excited to see what comes from each of these new startups as well as some of the others coming out of TechStars and Y Combinator.

As an advocate for transparency, efficacy and consumerism in today’s business environment, I am, however left wanting a bit… I mean we have these great technologies, we have some “fun” things happening, but what are we really doing? Are we solving anything, or are we just showing off our geek-ness and ability to make a mobile device do something cool? With the speed to market being in an increasingly quick turnaround with agile iterations happening on an almost daily basis, the rush to ship is daunting.

Are we solving anything, or are we just showing off our geek-ness and ability to make a mobile device do something cool?

What if we take a step back and start with a real problem? What if use our collective genius to collaborate and create a technological advancement to solve these real issues? We have the power to completely change the way we live, the way we educate, the way we govern, the way we support one another as human beings. I see a huge need for a new type of incubator… one that starts with a problem and the solution is in the brainstorming and innovation.

Solve First… Then Ship.

What do you think? How would you use collaboration to solve real issues?